Honey Creek Watershed, Ohio

Lawhon & Associates, Inc. developed a watershed action plan for the Honey Creek Watershed which drains approximately 143 square miles in Miami, Montgomery, Champaign, and Clark Counties within the Upper Great Miami River watershed.  The project was funded by a Clean Water Act Section 319 grant from the Ohio EPA.  Lawhon & Associates, Inc. worked with the Honey Creek Watershed group to identify human stressors along the stream including: sources of gray water, farm runoff, microbial contamination from livestock operations, rolling dams, and new housing developments.  Once major areas of concern were pinpointed, sampling points along the streams were evaluated and assessed utilizing the hydrodynamic water quality model which evaluates longitudinal-vertical hydrodynamics and water quality in stratified and non-stratified systems. Water quality parameters assessed included multiple algae, epiphyton/periphyton, zooplankton, macrophyte, CBOD, and generic water quality groups. An internal dynamic pipe/culvert model and hydraulic structures (weirs, spillways) model was also used to aid in the assessment of water quality in the overall watershed.  Results from the water quality analysis were then incorporated into the Honey Creek Watershed Action Plan which is a document that identifies all stressors to the watershed and areas that need improvement.